Best of Great Food Search 2024

Jan 25, 2025 | 2025 Articles, Food Fun, Terrance V. Mc Arthur, The Great Food Search

by Terrance Mc Arthur

Oh, the places The Great Food Search went in 2024! From Bakersfield to Shaver Lake, we ate our way through the Valley and up into the mountains. Here are some of the highlights of our journey.

Empanadas are great, but…Fill them with pumpkin? Oowee!

Cristal Bakery & Restaurant—704 O St., Sanger—Did you ever have a Pumpkin Empanada? You should! They look like “nuthin’ muffins,” but the tender dough gives way to waves of fall flavor—Wowie! Zowie!

Love everything at Zues in Sanger–especially the carrots!

Zeus Fresh Mediterranean–544 Academy Avenue, Sanger—we love the basic bowl with meat, rice and/or veggies, and sauce. Our favorite combination is Chicken Kabab over carrots, with a garlic sauce oozing over it all. If you get there early enough in the day (or order ahead), you can get their version of Spanakopita, a spinach/cheese mixture wrapped inside a triangular cocoon of phyllo dough. Oh. boy!

Count on the Monte Cristo sandwich at Huckleberry’s! (The Huckleberry Jam is fantastic)

Huckleberry’s—2100 Clovis Ave., Clovis—You need to fortify yourself before you go to Costco in Clovis, so we often stop at a nearby Huckleberry’s. My usual go-to is a catfish entrée, but a Food Search for Sandwiches led to the Monte Cristo Sandwich. Ham and turkey, Monterey Jack cheese, egg-dipped sourdough bread—fried, sprinkled with dots of powdered sugar. Dip it in the small tub of Huckleberry Jam (WOW!) A sweet version of a French Dip!

10 oz Steak at Tahoe Joe’s thick as a brick but a lot more delicious.

Richard’s Prime Rib & Seafood—1609 E. Belmont Ave., Fresno
And/Or
Tahoe Joe’s Famous Steakhouse—7006 N. Cedar Ave., Fresno— Looking for a romantic Dinner for 2? Both of these eateries offer a wild-and-crazy one-price option in the upper-$70 range. Steak, prime rib, baked potato, soup or salad, dessert, and other delights will tempt you. Gorge yourselves. Tahoe Joe’s is more open and chatty, while Richard’s offers a darker, intimate atmosphere. Whichever you choose, the food will be fantastic!

Sweet Girl Farms, Reedley-Worth the travel, and where else can you find Avocado Blossom Honey?

Sunflower Farm Stand—18266 E. Kings Canyon Rd., Sanger
And/Or
Sweet Girl Farms—8358 S. Alta Ave., Reedley
The San Joaquin Valley is the Food Basket of America, and Fresno County draws tourists for the Blossom Trail and the Fruit Trail each year, showcasing the amazing crops. Two of the produce stands wrap up this wrap-up of 2024 Great Food Search finds. The Sunflower Farm Stand seasonally features a Sunflower Maze, a Butterfly Hatchery, animals, photo ops, pick-and-pay produce, and a charming tiny-house store. The year-round Sweet Girl Farms has lots of flowers, fruits, veggies, and smiles.

Last Words—We reviewed 32 locations for The Great Food Search in 2024. Each one had good reasons for you to go there. Who knows where The Great Food Search will travel in 2025?

Happy eating!

You can find all of the Great Food Search columns here.

Check out more food articles and more of Terrance’s Great Food Search column in our Food Fun section. And check out a KRL staff profile this week on Terrance!

Terrance V. Mc Arthur worked for the Fresno County Public Library for three decades. He is retired, but not retiring. A storyteller, puppeteer, writer, actor, magician, basketmaker, and all-around interesting person, his goal is to make life more unusual for everyone he meets.

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